Watching Ravel come of age

I think it was the reactions on the various Manchester United fan sites that got my attention.

I had never heard of Ravel Morrison, so from my perspective way the hell over here it was a nothing story in January during a relegated season. About as noteworthy as a 1-0 win at Doncaster. But as I perused the various levels of fury directed at Man U for selling us this kid, I started to realise this was not a simple transfer.

We all know about his many transgressions. For all of his talent, I wasn’t at all surprised that Man U and Fergie threw up their hands and said “Done”. When you are as rich and powerful as Manchester United you do not need to wait for any player to overcome the kind of personal problems Ravel Morrison had.

Why should they? They have bushels of young talent that have not terrorised a witness in a criminal proceeding. Do multi-millionaires fix their broken high definition plasma televisions? Hell no. They send one of their minions to the store to buy a new one. And if you listened to Sir Alex and others at the club you would have thought they were parents that had gone through a lot of grief raising a bad kid and decided they had enough.

Yet in an article written by Daniel Taylor for The Guardian in January, 2012 about his court appearance, the club was not painted in a very flattering light. "What Man United would rather not come out is that, in court, the district judge questioned whether the club were giving him the right care. Her view was that they may not be".

He went on, pointing out that nobody from the club accompanied him to court that day. “Nobody from Manchester United was with him and it struck me as strange given the way the club usually operate. Sir Alex Ferguson might ordinarily have been expected to make an appearance, or at least send in a character reference. But Morrison was alone, bar his solicitor”.

I’m a white guy, born and raised in a pretty good Manhattan neighborhood. I will never pretend to know what it’s like to be black. I’ve heard stories from black friends, and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out it isn’t that easy at times. This anecdote comes to mind.

A friend of mine was shopping at a swanky department store at a shopping mall in New Jersey. He made crazy money then, so buying a sweater for $750 was like me buying one for $50. Apparently the saleswoman at the store didn’t think so, and as soon as my friend left the store she called the bank that issued his credit card and reported it as stolen.

He found out the next night while trying to pay for dinner with an important client that his card had been cancelled. He rightfully went ballistic when he found out what happened. No, he didn’t threaten anyone or grab the saleswoman’s cell phone and throw it out a window. He had the self control to handle it in a civilised manner. He got a pretty sizable gift certificate and an apology. He used to certificate, and never shopped there again.

As I’ve followed pre-season, I’m sure I’m like many of you in that the newfound maturity of Ravel Morrison is THE story. And here is where I was hoping to be able to pretend to be a journalist for a few seconds. I sent an email to Andy Walker of Birmingham City Football Club, who handles their media relations. I told him who I was, and said if Ravel does make it the credit will need to go to Lee Clark and the rest of the crew at BCFC.

I have two kids, and every now and then I see something from them in every day life that opens my eyes. Like they suddenly took a step forward. I wondered if the manager, or even one of the backroom staff, could recall such a moment with Ravel? Where they saw the angry kid change into what he seems to be heading towards.

Andy was kind enough to reply, saying he would ask and hope for something to send back. I guess trying to gain promotion to the richest league in the world is more important to them than helping me with this article. I got nothing.

One guy that does have experience helping talented but troubled young footballers is Kevin Nolan. I had a gut feeling that Sam would have a chat with Nolan, and he in turn would work with Morrison both on and off the pitch. "He has grown up and I think he has come back with a renewed approach. I am going to help him as much as I can by talking to him on and off the pitch. Last year it was all the off-field stuff and his mental attitude to the game. He let himself down with not turning up and things like that," Nolan told The Daily Star.

None of us have a crystal ball. But I have a hunch that we have a gem on our hands. I am more excited about watching this kid play and blossom than anything else this year.

Ravel, I’m really pleased for you. Good luck.

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